Most automotive manufacturers today use 100 percent petroleum-based polyol foam. Each vehicle produced today contains an average of 30 pounds of petroleum-based foam. The total annual worldwide market for the foam is 9 billion pounds. Milewski says auto manufacturers research and development of renewable, more environmentally friendly materials to produce the foam, could have a significant environmental impact.

Ford has a long history of using alternative materials, although the 1941 prototype that employed a hemp fiber resin body was quietly shut down, supposedly, say the conspiracy theorists, by the US government and strong lobbying from the petroleum industries and companies like DuPont.

Hopefully this move by Ford is the birth of mainstream alternative polymers, ones that are biodegradable and less energy intensive to produce.

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Mike Thomas P.Eng. ENV SP, is the author of UrbanWorkbench.com and Director of Engineering at the City of Revelstoke in the Interior of British Columbia, Canada.
If I post something here that you find helpful as you navigate the world of engineering, planning and building communities, that’s wonderful. But when push comes to shove: This is my personal blog. The views expressed on these pages are mine alone and not those of my employer.